Palestinians Find Show of Support Lacking From Arab Leaders Amid Offensive

CAIRO — Three years ago there was a hope that a growing movement for democracy might make Arab countries more supportive of the Palestinians, as governments grew more responsive to the people and their demands.

But during the latest bloodshed in Gaza, the opposite has occurred, according to supporters of the Palestinians, who found the official Arab reaction incoherent, at times providing cover for the Israeli military assault.

The governments were accused of dithering at critical moments during the recent Israeli military offensive, where in the past, Palestinians counted on them to at least muster some diplomatic pressure to make it stop. Their feuds broke out in public, and Egypt even blamedHamas, the Islamist movement in Gaza, rather than Israel, for dozens of Palestinian deaths.

“None of the Arab countries are being supportive. The entire burden is on the Palestinians,” said Mondher Maamar, a Tunisian protester who marched in support of Palestinians in Gaza in his country’s capital on Friday.

Read the full article at The New York Times.